Vandal Damages High-End Vehicles At Edmond Car Dealership

An Edmond car dealer is out nearly half a million dollars after vandals hit a dozen high end cars and trucks in broad daylight.

Surveillance cameras caught the vandal on video around 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

The owner of Norris Auto sales says in the 22 years he's been selling cars, he's had petty thefts, and has had to deal with storm damage. But he says what happened Sunday morning will without a doubt hurt the dealership's bottom line.

A 2006 Maserati which originally had a sticker price of about $130,000 may now be even cheaper since a vandal took a key to it. It alone could cost up to $10,000 to repair.

"We have to take the trim molding off, the handles off. I mean it's not something that you just take, and then paint that vehicle," said T.J. Norris, owner of Norris Auto Sales.

Same goes for a Porsche Carrera, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Escalade, which sat just steps from the front door when the vandal struck. The damage so extensive Norris thinks the vandal may have used a knife.

"Nobody's buying a Porsche, a Maserati, or an Escalade or Lexus," said Norris. "They don't want key scratches, and they don't want paint work. It affects the car fax."

The surveillance video captured everything. The man who appears middle aged wearing a baseball cap literally walks around the Porsche and Maserati, keying every panel.

"There's really no option at this point. Would you buy a Maserati that's got a key scratch," said Norris. "I mean, we have to fix it, and we're just going to have to fix it, and work our way out of it."

Norris says they don't know who the vandal is. Until they saw the surveillance video, they thought maybe it was a former employee or an upset customer, but, as far as they know, it's not.

Norris says his deductible for vandalism is $10,000, most of which he says will come out of his pocket.